Soft-Talk
by Solora Goldsun
Summary: (Spoilers for "Flames of the Dark Crystal.") After returning to Sog, Naia and Amri continue their long-overdue confession, allowing themselves a moment of happiness as the Gelfling clans prepare for war.


**Hello, my lovelies! I am coming at you the day before **_**Age of Resistance**_** airs on Netflix, having just finished all of J.M. Lee's **_**Dark Crystal**_** books, which tie in with the series. I already love the characters with all my heart. The world of Thra and its various cultures are just so incredible to read about. I can't wait to see it all brought to life once again by those following in Jim Henson's footsteps.**

**This fluffy oneshot takes place right after **_**Flames of the Dark Crystal**_**, and features my current OTP of the entire series: Naia/Amri. I figured we'd need something nice and romantic before we get our hearts ripped out tomorrow.**

**Enjoy!**

The evening after Naia's return to Sog, accompanied by Maudra Mera and Gelfling refugees from the other clans, there was a feast. There was a feast, because everyone was tired and grieving, and needed something to enjoy after their most recent fight with the Skeksis.

The preparations were hurried, though interspersed with thorough examinations of the blindfish, which had become susceptible to the darkening. Tables were hastily set up outside and shaded with shelters improvised from several Dousan tents. Uninjured Drenchen delved into the stocks of herbs, fished, harvested squirming algae to season the leafy salads, boiled Nebrie-milk dumplings, and prepared some less-squirmy dishes at Naia's request, including a salad of chopped mushrooms seasoned with red coral dust offered by one of their Sifan guests. Several blindfish were cut into non-moving fillets, and there were more unseasoned salads than usual.

Naia, after all, remembered the discomfort Tavra had shown on her first visit to Sog in the face of the moving plates of food, and was desperate to make the other clans as comfortable as possible. By nightfall, Gelfling from all seven clans sat together, passing leaf plates and sampling the fare of Sog. The Dousan and Grottan happily scarfed down the writhing blindfish, as did a few more adventurous members of the other clans.

Amri was one of them, making an odd face as he munched on a writhing salad. It felt strange on his tongue, though not unpleasant. Noticing Naia watching, he quickly smiled and nodded, swallowing the bite in his mouth. He turned to talk to a nervous-looking Dousan sitting on his other side, his ears perked forward and his dark eyes bright.

The sight warmed Naia's heart, as did every Gelfling who approached someone not of their clan, expressions hesitant at first, but quickly warming into camaraderie.

She felt a nudge to her right side, and turned to her youngest sister, who sat in the chair next to her. Bellanji sat on her left, followed by Eliona, once again sitting in Gurjin's old place.

Pemma leaned close, her eyes twinkling. "I like your boyfriend," she whispered with an obvious wink as she glanced in Amri's direction.

Naia smirked and whispered back. "Thanks. I like him too."

Pemma's ears twitched and her jaw dropped. "Wait, he's actually…" She looked from Amri, to Naia, then back again, momentarily stunned into silence.

On Naia's other side, Bellanji glanced down at his daughter with a smile. "I thought so," he said with the voice of someone who knew very well what being in love looked like. There was a shadow of sadness over his eyes, even as he touched his daughter's arm, and Naia knew he was thinking about her mother. She grasped his hand tightly, nodding once in understanding.

The corner of his mouth twitched. "So, should I do the scary father act now, or later?" he asked.

"Ugh, never!" Naia groaned, rolling her eyes. "You're pretty terrifying, and we haven't even, well…" She glanced to the side, her ears turning red. "We said we'd talk about everything later."

"It's later now," Bellanji said, his voice ringing with characteristic Drenchen hard-talk.

Naia's blush deepened, especially as Eliona and Pemma nodded in agreement, twin smirks on their faces that promised much younger sister-teasing in the future. "The feast-"

"Is perfect, thanks to you," Bellanji finished. "You have done a wonderful job making our guests feel welcome. Preparations for more permanent sleeping-spots are well under way, and everyone is getting along just fine. Go. Pluck some happiness out of this pool of hardship you've been swimming through."

There was little choice but to obey, especially when Pemma started kicking at Naia's chair. Taking a deep breath to quell her heart, which was fluttering like a hollerbat, she stood up, gesturing for everyone to continue eating as Bellanji sat up straighter, effortlessly taking up the entire head of the table with his presence.

Amri looked at her curiously as she passed, still trying to chew up the last of the crawly algae from his salad. When he caught the look Naia gave him, he understood, excusing himself from the table to follow her away from the feast. He fell into step next to her and slipped his smaller hand into hers, as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

When she squeezed his hand, hers as warm and firm as the living trees of Sog, Amri knew that it _was_ the most natural thing in the world.

They walked in silence for a time, away from the shadow of the skeletal form of the old Great Smerth tree, and into the denser part of the wood, where firebugs glowed gently like tiny, golden lanterns. Amri caught one in his free hand, staring at it with a fascinated shine in his black eyes.

Then, he jumped back with a squawk as something dove down from a nearby tree, snapping up the firebug with a satisfied burble.

"Neech!" Naia laughed as the young muski flew to her shoulder, slipping around her neck. "Was the feast not good enough for you?"

Neech nuzzled Naia's face with a soft chirp.

Amri watched Naia fuss over her pet, his hands itching to pick up the adorable little flying eel. He had seen the large one Maudra Laesid had ridden, of course, but he hadn't exactly felt comfortable asking to ride or pet it.

Naia noticed the hopeful glimmer in Amri's eyes as he regarded Neech. "You want to hold him?"

"Yes!" Amri replied immediately.

He was like an excited childling, radiating infectious happiness in the face of something new. Naia remembered how excited he had been to ride a landstrider for the first time, making the creatures seem so much more wondrous than they had been before. That was yet another thing she loved about Amri: He made everything feel new and exciting, even a familiar pet of many trine.

She kissed Neech's nose. "Go ahead," she urged. "Say hi."

Neech slipped from her hands, tilting his head at Amri before gladly jumping to his shoulder, winding around his neck.

"Ah!" Amri jumped, then burst out laughing as Neech's fur and quills tickled his skin, squirming as the muski nuzzled against him. "Haha! It's like wearing an adorable scarf!"

He reached up to scratch under Neech's chin, grinning when he was rewarded with a contented chirrup. "Who's a cute eel? Who's a cute little eel? You are! Yeah, you are!" he cooed.

Cute was definitely the word Naia would use to describe this moment, though she wasn't necessarily thinking about Neech. Amri already made her stomach squirm like a blindfish whenever he smiled, winked, or joked with her, and let's not forget how obviously-athletic his figure was under that cloak of his, which he had shed upon their return to Sog. Watching him fawn over a cheerfully-wriggling Neech was almost too much to handle.

Amri looked up from the happy muski to see Naia's blue-grey eyes gazing at him. Not looking. _Gazing._ As if he was the most amazing thing she'd ever seen.

His skin burned, and he knew she could probably tell, even with how dark it was outside. "So," he began. "Why'd you want me to come out here?" He already knew, of course, but he wanted to hear her say it.

Naia's ears and cheeks flushed when she saw the deep red of Amri's face. Had she really been staring so obviously? While a little embarrassed, she couldn't bring herself to wish that Amri hadn't seen her, especially if it meant seeing him blush like this. "Well, we promised we'd continue our soft-talk later, and my father oh-so-kindly decided that now is later."

Amri's ears twitched at the mention of Bellanji. "Wait, so he's okay? With me, I mean?"

"Of course, he is." Naia frowned at Amri's surprise. "Why wouldn't he be?"

"I mean…" Amri shuffled his bare feet in the damp earth as he brought up something that had occurred to him not long after his confession on the landstrider. "You're the maudra of the Drenchen. Won't everyone expect you to…be with another Drenchen?"

"Oh." Naia's eyes softened in understanding as she thought back to Tavra and Onica, and how the two had been forced to hide their relationship from the Maudra Mayrin for that very reason. "My family isn't that strict or close-minded," she said. "And, even if some of my clan expects that of me, I won't bend to something that stupid."

She folded her arms, tilting her chin upward. "The Gelfling are supposed to all be united, and I intend to lead by example. The Sifa accept Gelfling into their clan regardless of blood, and I plan to do the same. As long as they are here, I will consider every Gelfling we brought with us to be a part of Sog, regardless of their mother clans."

With that declaration made, her shoulders relaxed and she smiled softly. "That means you're part of my clan now too, if you like."

Amri's heart felt like it was floating like a Dousan skimmer on the Crystal Sea. "I want to be part of anything you're part of," he blurted, then blushed even deeper. _Wow, that sounded dumb. Way to be smooth, Amri!_

A giggle escaped Naia's lips before she could stop it. It was a strange, purely-happy sound that had been almost nonexistent during their hard journey. Amri's gaze flicked back to her, and she could tell by the sparkle in his eyes that he would be very unopposed to her making that sound more often.

"Aw, don't stop there," she teased gently, her voice heavily seasoned with giddy laughter.

Amri's heart thudded and he found himself closing the distance between them, pulling Naia into a warm hug. He barely felt a mildly-disgruntled Neech disentangling himself from his neck. It was impossible to stop the laughter that rose in his chest like tickling bubbles.

"You make me so happy, Naia," he breathed, squeezing her tightly, sighing as her arms eagerly returned his embrace. "Everything about you is just…just amazing." It didn't come close to summing up how he felt, but it was the best he could come up with as his brain turned into happy mush.

Naia snuggled against Amri's front, unable to stop smiling as she felt his familiar, slender arms around her. Her ear twitched against his chest as she listened to his frantically-pounding heart. "You're pretty amazing yourself," she murmured.

Amri's cheek was pressed against Naia's thick hair, currently tied in several braids, absent of beads and ribbons due to mourning. He was glad he could make her smile, make her laugh despite all they had been through and all she'd recently lost. He'd gladly stay by her side every day to keep that smile alive.

"Hey, Naia," he ventured, shivering a bit when she exhaled across his collarbone.

"Hm?" Naia asked, not pulling away from Amri's embrace even a little.

"Can I…" Amri swallowed thickly. "Can I kiss you?"

This did cause Naia to move back, just enough so she could see Amri's face, which was redder than the Chamberlain's cloak in that moment. She gently cupped his cheek, feeling the burning heat there. "You don't have to ask that."

Amri blinked. "Yeah, I do! I mean, just because we like each other like this doesn't mean we're both ready to kiss, you know. I gotta be considerate, right?"

"For someone who wants to kiss me, you're doing a lot of talking," Naia said dryly, even as her heart warmed at Amri's concern.

Amri's stammering was abruptly cut off as he let out a laugh at Naia's characteristic bluntness. It was one of several things he adored about her.

He let himself move closer, watching as Naia's glittering eyes seemed to deepen, looking like twin pools of endless sky. He felt his own eyes drift shut just as their noses brushed. He nuzzled her briefly before tilting his head and gently claiming his first kiss.

Naia just barely kept from gasping as Amri's lips oh-so-carefully touched hers. Her nose tingled from that quick, sweet little nuzzle, and every other part of her body was rapidly following suit. Her arms tightened once more around him, drawing him closer, if that was possible. One of her hands moved up to cup his face, stroking his cheek with her thumb as she deepened the kiss.

Amri felt like he was drowning, but in the best possible way. It was like he was sinking into a darkness even more comforting than the caves of Domrak, surrounding himself with familiar, living warmth. Naia held him close, taking control of the kiss, almost pulling at him, as if she was trying to draw a piece of him into her, a piece she would hold within her heart and protect for as long as she lived.

He was all too happy to give her everything. He allowed himself to be swept away by Naia's strength and warmth, his own actions tender and yielding.

Naia pressed still closer, savoring Amri's soft, cool lips, loving the tiny noises he was making but likely was not aware of. She could feel his heart pounding against hers, as strong and proud as Drenchen war drums.

When they eventually pulled away from each other, Amri's black eyes were misty and unfocused. Naia stroked his hair as he recovered.

Amri was so happy, he could hardly contain himself! With a bright grin, he moved close again, pecking the tip of Naia's nose. When this elicited a surprised giggle, he just had to do it again. He kissed her twitching nose, her broad forehead, her warm cheeks, all while drinking her laughter into his ears like water down a parched throat.

Naia gladly accepted Amri's excited burst of affection before pressing another long, lingering kiss to his lips, then pulling back slowly. The sun was down now. They would need to go to bed and prepare for everything that had to be done tomorrow.

Once the loving haze cleared a bit from Amri's eyes, he noticed Naia's expression and understood. "We should head back. Everyone's probably going to bed by now."

"Yeah," Naia agreed, moving back from Amri very reluctantly. She almost asked him to join her, but it was way too soon for that, even if she just wanted to cuddle against him, feeling his presence as she slept.

They walked back toward the tables, where most of the Gelfling had left and others were cleaning up. The Drenchen waved away Naia's offers to help, urging her to get some sleep. If any of them looked at Amri and Naia's joined hands, it was with mild curiosity or a slight smile.

Sensing that it was time to part for the time being, Amri brought Naia's hand to his mouth, softly kissing her wrist, knuckle, and fingers. He let go, committing her soft smile and pink cheeks to memory as he turned away and started toward the temporary sleeping shelters.

Naia held her kissed hand over her chest, taking one last breath as she allowed herself to enjoy the warm, fluttery feelings that had dominated her mind and body for the past while. Tomorrow, she would have to continue leading her clan. Tomorrow, the resistance against the Skeksis continued.

Still, she was ready to face the upcoming tomorrows knowing that her friends and family would be by her side. And if those tomorrows included more kisses and soft-talk with a certain adorable Grottan, they would be all the more bearable.

**It has been ages since I've been this excited about a fictional world, but I have every reason to be. Between the plot I've already read, and the master puppetry and practical effects, this may be the greatest thing to happen in the realm of fantasy since Peter Jackson brought **_**The Lord of the Rings**_** to the big screen.**

**You will be seeing more fics from me. Many will probably be happy AU fics, because we all know that sadness awaits us.**

**Until then, peace out!**


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